It’s back-to-school season here at the Mid-Continent Oceanographic Institute. As we begin our voyage into the new school year, we’re diving for your support! MOI is a creative writing and tutoring center in disguise. It’s a place where young people can learn and become empowered. Where they can speak and be heard, write and be read. We want this for all students in the Twin Cities. That’s why we’re launching our #WriteOurTwinCities initiative to support and expand our programming for the upcoming year.

When Sally, one of our sea-star volunteers, told us that she imagines “a world with boundaries, but without borders” while she’s at MOI, we were inspired. Our mission has always been to affirm student identity while breaking down barriers through storytelling, and Sally was able to put this into words. Every day, we work to build that world—one where students can be themselves in their studies and their stories. But we can’t do it alone.

That’s why we’re turning to you, our supporters. You can help create a new story—for yourself, for the children of our community—and MOI is here to make that happen. We want to share our vision with you, and we want you to share yours with us. #WriteOurTwinCities is an initiative we’ve created to do just that.

We are working to raise $10,000 in the next month. These funds go directly toward engaging youth as authors and captains of their lives. Your gift of $50 helps us pay for one more volunteer to get trained and onboarded; your gift of $500 helps us pay for an entire class to come to MOI for a field trip and leave with an original creation; your gift of $5,000 could fund a whole class of Young Authors’ Book Project, where students become published co-authors with local literary giants like Marlon James. All gifts, large or small, help us maintain the quality of our programming.

Support MOI and its big-hearted goals however you can—your gift, your time, your share on social media. We appreciate all the support you can give.